Photographic construction records



15, 1966 s. c. PETERSON ETAL 3,234,363

PHOTOGRAPHIC CONSTRUCTION RECORDS Filed March 5, 1963 1... F7610 Fla. 8J

777777777 "777 /7 M. i /2 30; mm F/ e. 4 j

FIG. 4/ 1 IN V EN TOR. GERALD C. PETERSON, BCOkNEL/US H. HAGEMA N UnitedStates Patent This invention relates to the making of photographic,as-built plans (or records).

When large buildings, particularly commercial and industrial types inwhich plumbing and electrical conduits are buried, it is a standardrequirement of construction contracts that plans showing the building asbuilt be supplied. It is fortunate that these plans rarely coincide withthe building as actually built, for the reason that workmen often makeminor modifications on the spot either to run a conduit to a desiredlocation or simply to accommodate a mistake made in cutting a line toolong or too short. The result is that in any or most cases, much of theplumbing and electric circuitry in large buildings cannot readily belocated. Experiences are legion in which large building areas have hadto be torn up in the attempt to find a particular conduit.

It is an object of this invention to provide a means whereby aphotographic record can be kept of concealed portions of a building, andin which these elements can be found to fractions of an inch from anexamination of the picture on which a grid has been imposed.

According to this invention, a camera is utilized which has an axis, theaxis being kept vertical and intersecting a datum point, whose locationis known. According to a preferred but optional feature of theinvention, the camera is supported by a boom so as readily to be placedat a proper altitude and location relative to a reg-ion to bephotographed.

In order to provide a dimensional scale of reference, a grid of regularrectangular properties having graduations proportional to some unit oflength, such as inches or feet, is spread out over an area and has adatum point therein. Then a congruent optical system such as the samecamera as used for the aforementioned photography is set above thisgrid, and the grid is photographed. Thereafter, a composite picture ismade of the picture of the region andof the grid which, because theyhave been photographed and then applied to a positive print throughcongruent optical systems, produce an as-built photograph in which alloptical and dimensional errors are compensating, and in which the gridprovide a reliable, proportional indication of unit measure where theobject being sought is located.

The above and other features of this invention will be fully understoodfrom the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a true grid utilized in this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of an optical system used in the invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are top and side views of types of plumbing hookups whichadvantageously can be photographed and their component portions locatedby use of this invention;

FIGS. 5-7 are side schematic views showing three printing processesuseful in making an as-built photograph according to this invention;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are plan views of portions of the invent-ion;

FIG. 10 is a side schematic view of still another process for thisinvention; and

FIG. 11 is a section taken at line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 1 illustrates a true grid 10 which may be made "ice of string orrope stretched tightly at equal intervals 11 which preferably are spacedby standard units of measurement such as one foot. A target 12 is placedin the middle of this grid as a datum point, the target being providedon a board 13 having a circle 14 and cross-arms 15, the center of whichis the datum point. These provide for such centering as may be desiredand are used to provide for compass orientation.

A camera 16 having an axis 17 is supported from a boom 18. The boomincludes a tripod 19, a vertical swivel joint 20, and a hinge 21 on thejoint carrying a tube 22. A boom arm 23 is slideable in the tube. Theboom arm may be raised, lowered, rotated, lengthened or shortened, asrequired by the job.

A suspension arm 24 is hung from the free end of the boom arm to supportthe camera. A plumb bob 25 is supported by a flexible line 26 on theaxis of the camera, preferably coincident therewith. In photographingthe true grid to provide for a reference grid, the boom and camera aresupported as shown in FIG. 2 with the plumb bob coincident with thecenter of arms 15 so that the axis is vertical and intersects the datumpoint. A picture may then be taken of the true grid and developed on anegative so as to provide a reference grid. The reference grid will havecertain aberrations and distortions caused by the camera lens and willnot itself be uniform over its entire surface. Because of the way thegrid is used in this invention, these abarrations and distortions arenot important.

In order to photograph a region 30 (FIG. 4) of which an as-built plan isto be made, a target 12 is placed in the region at a known distance froma bench mark 31 to act as a datum point. The dimensions from the benchmark may be those of a vector, or of rectangular coordi nates. Thelocation of the datum point is then known, and may be found again forsuccessive pictures of the same region. When the target is placed, theboom is placed with the camera in the same geometrical relationship tothe target as it Was in FIG. 2, so that the photographic optical systemsare congruent. It is evident that with this arrangement, the aberrationsand distortions of the photographed region and of the photograph of thetrue grid are proportionally identical, and therefore cancelling, inthat an error in one will not result in an error in reading the otherwhen their datum points are coincident.

As the region is built up with additional installations, additionalpictures may be taken with the target in or near the same location fromtime to time, so as to indicate the developing conditions within theregion. The resulting photographs show the precise conditions, and notmerely what a draftsman thought was built, which might have been changedon the job.

In order to produce the as-built plan, it is necessary to superimposethe reference grid on the picture of the region. There are threeprincipal ways to do this, but in every case the images of the referencegrid and of the region as photographed must pass through congruentoptical systems. The term congruent optical system includes thesimultaneous use of a single optical system.

FIG. 5 shows one printing technique. An enlarger 32 is conveniently usedin all embodiments. In this case, the negatives 33, 34 of the photographof the true grid and of the region, respectively, are placed insurface-tosurface contact, with the datum points coincident. Thecomposite picture is then projected onto a piece of positive paper 35.

FIG. 6 shows the presently preferred technique, which has a number ofcommercial advantages which may readily be understood by a considerationof FIGS. 8 and 9. F IG. 8 shows a transparent overlay 37 which consistsof the picture taken of the true grid. This is a reference grid whichhas been enlarged to the same size as the picture of which it is tobecome a part. Preferably, the picture taken of the reference grid isdeveloped on a transparent acetate sheet, and then the lines are madeblack. Thereafter, when a positive print is made, the grid lines will beon the print so as to provide optimum contrast with the usual buildingbackground.

As can best be seen in FIG. 8, the reference grid 38 is provided asthough it were projected as in FIG. 5. All of the distortions andaberrations will be there, but they are not shown in the drawings,because they are of relatively small size. In addition, fourjustification marks 39 may be provided, if desired, on the overlay.

FIG. 9 illustrates a negative 40 from the photograph of a region withjustification marks 41. A convenient technique for making its dataumpoint coincide with that of the reference grid is to place the overlayon an easel without the positive paper 42 yet in place. Then the lightis turned on in the enlarger and passed through negative 40, projectingits datum point and justification line, on those of the overlay. It issimple at this time to make either the justification marks or thetargets coincide, which attends to centering and magnification problems.Thereafter the positive paper is put in place and exposed through thenegative and the overlay to secure the composite picture.

Still another technique of making the positive print is shown in FIG. 7in which an enlarger flashes its light through negatives 43, 44 of thereference grid and of the region, respectively, both of these being insurface-tosurface contact with each other, negative 44' being insurface-to-surface contact with positive paper 45.

FIG. shows that a grid 50 obtained from photographing the true grid maybe placed on a transparency within the camera, and thereby placeddirectly upon the negative 51 produced in the camera when it photographsthe region. Then any enlarger may be used to project the compositenegative produced thereby onto a positive paper. This process involvescertain registration difiiculties not common to the other systems shown,and is somewhat more diflicult to use. However, it is still feasible.

A suitable enlarger for this purpose is a 4 X 5 Omega, manufactured bySimm-on Bros, Inc., Long Island City, New York. A suitable camera forthis purpose is a Veriwide 100 Camera, manufactured by Brooks-Plaubel ofNew York and Frankfurt, Germany, with a 100 superangulon 1:8/47Schncider-Kreuznach lens. The camera will ordinarily be suspended about13 /2 feet above the place of the true grid or region, although this maybe varied. Obviously, the reference grid used will be one I whichrelates to the height from which the region is photographed.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the type of pipe or conduit constructions whichfrequently appear in building construction. When the as-built plan isfinished, it will constitute a photograph of FIG. 4 overlaid with thereference grid of FIG. 8. From this reference grid, the location of adesired element within the grid can readily be derived and then with theknowledge of the location of the datum point, these can be readilylocated in a concealing envlronment.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate congruent optical systems "wherein the lightsimultaneously passes through the elements described. It will readily beunderstood that the negatives and the like could hav been derivedthrough separate optical systems, but they will all have the sameproperties as to distortion, magnification and the like, therebyestablishing the meaning of congruent in this specificatlon as anoptical system which will produce substantially the same result withrespect to the transformation of a scene of the true grid and of theregion being photographed onto a common composite picture.

This invention is not to be limited by the embodiments shown in thedrawings and described in the description which are given by way ofexample and not of limitation, but only in accordance with the scope ofthe appended claims.

We claim:

1. A method of making photographic-as-built plans, comprising:establishing a known dataum point in a region to be photographed for aplan, suspending a camera having an axis over the datum point, with theaxis vertical and intersecting the datum point, photographing the regionwith said camera, developing a negative therefrom, and printing acomposite pitcure of said negative and of a reference grid obtained byphotographing a true grid with a congruent optical system, the images ofthe grid and 0f the negative arriving at the location of the compositepicture through congruent optical systems.

2. A method according to claim it in which the photograph of the truegrid is on a negative, and in which both negatives are simultaneouslyprojected on positive a er. p A method according to claim 1 in which aplurality of said composite pictures are secured at intervals ofconstruction, thereby to secure a record of the identity and location ofotherwise-concealed objects relative to the datum point.

4. A method according to claim 1 in which the photograph of the truegrid is on a negative, and in which the negatives are overlaid insurface-to-surface contact with each other, both overlaying a sheet ofpositive paper, and the paper is then exposed to secure a compositepicture of both negatives.

5. A method according to claim 1 in which the true grid is photographedand then projected onto a transpar ent overlay coextensive with the areaof the composite picture, and in which the negative is projected ontopositive paper while the paper is in sur'face-to-surface contact withthe overlay.

6. A method according to claim 5 in which the grid on the overlay isopaque, whereby the reference grid on the composite picture is white incolor.

7. A method of making photographic-as-built plans, comprising: formingon a planar surface a true grid having a datum point, suspending acamera having an axis, with the axis vertical and intersecting the datumpoint, photographing the grid, and developing the image thus produced asa reference grid with a datum point; establishing a datum point in aregion to be photographed for a plan, suspending a camera having acongruent optical system and an axis, with the axis in a verticalposition and intersecting the latter datum point, photographing theregion with the latter camera and developing the picture therebyobtained, and printing a composite picture of the two photographs byprojecting them through congruent systems to a piece of positive paper,thereby to produce a composite picture of the photographed region as itwould have appeared had a true planar grid been formed on thephotographed region.

8. A method according to claim 7 in which the photograph of the truegrid is on a negative, and in which both negatives are simultaneouslyprojected on positive paper.

9. A method according to claim 7 in which the grid on the overlay isopaque, whereby the reference grid on the composite picture is white incolor.

10. A method according to claim 7 in which both photographs are onnegatives, and in which both negatives are overlaid insurface-to-surface contact with each other, both overlaying the sheet ofpositive paper, the paper being exposed to secure a composite picture ofboth negatives.

11. A method according to claim 7 in which the true grid is photographedand then projected onto a transparent overlay coextensive with the areaof the composite picture, and in which the negative is projected ontopositive paper while the paper is in surface-to-surface contact with theoverlay.

v12. A method according to claim 11 in which the grid 5 6 on the overlayis opaque, whereby the reference grid on 2,352,176 6/1944 Bolsey 951.1 Xthe composite picture is white in color. 2,807,198 9/ 1957 Resnik 951.113. A method according to claim 7 in which the pho- 3,110,540 11/1963Simian 346107 X tograph of the grid is disposed on a transparency in theOTHE REFERENCES camera and superimposed on the picture of the region 5The Encyclopedia of Photography, vol. 8, pp. 3009 made by the camera.

and 3011, Progress Engineering Photography, published by NationalEducation Alliance, New York, 1949. Copy References Cited by theExaminer i Group 430.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 JOHN M. HORAN, Primary Examiner.

666,788 1/1901 erli 95-85 NORTON ANSI-1BR, Examinen

1. A METHOD OF MAKING PHOTOGRAPHIC-AS-BUILT PLANS, COMPRISING:ESTABLISHING A KNOWN DATAUM POINT IN A REGION TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED FOR APLAN, SUSPENDING A CAMERA HAVING AN AXIS OVER THE DATUM POINT, WITH THEAXIS VERTICAL AND INTERSECTING THE DATUM POINT, PHOTOGRAPHING THE REGIONWITH SAID CAMERA, DEVELOPING A NEGATIVE THEREFROM, AND PRINTING ACOMPOSITE PICTURE OF SAID NEGATIVE AND OF A REFERENCE GRID OBTAINED BYPHOTOGRAPHING A TRUE GRID WITH A CONGRUENT OPTICAL SYSTEM, THE IMAGES OFTHE GRID AND OF THE NEGATIVE ARRIVING AT THE LOCATION OF THE COMPOSITEPICTURE THROUGH CONGRUENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS.